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How to Remove Query Strings From Static Resources

Web page speed on your WordPress website is a key factor in improving the visitor experience. Your customers don’t like waiting for content to appear. In fact, a two-second delay in web page load time can increase bounce rates by 103%.

Every second counts when it comes to satisfying your visitors. Query strings in static resources can slow down your website. So, one solution is to remove them to increase your page speed. Let’s walk through how you can make this simple change to your WordPress website.

What are the Query Strings in WordPress?

A query string is everything that follows the “?” or “&” in a URL. WordPress developers use query strings to transfer content values or to distinguish files from one another. You can find them in static resources, like JavaScript and CSS files. A query string looks like this:

https://yourwebsite.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js?ver=3.5.7

Why You Should Remove Query Strings

Query strings aren’t part of the hierarchical path structure to load your web page, and because the query string data is exposed, hackers can compromise your website.

How to Test Your Website Load Time

Google considers page loading speed when ranking your website. If you suspect (or are just curious) about your website’s speed, there’s an easy way to check it.

Visit free website performance tools, like PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom, or GTmetrix. On the homepage, add your website address in the empty URL box and press the button next to it to start the test.

Each tool gives you an analysis of your WordPress website. You’ll see a performance score, the actual load time, and recommendations to improve your page speed. For instance, one of the suggestions may be to remove query strings from static resources.

It’s difficult to manage every optimization technique for your WordPress website. Luckily, you don't have to with Hummingbird. This plugin scans your website to find out what’s slowing it down and then provides you with a detailed performance report.

Install and activate the plugin.

Go to the Hummingbird tab on the left side of your dashboard.

Click Advanced Tools.

Under the General tab, click the slider next to Remove query strings from my assets. (It will change from white to blue.)

For your WordPress website, page speed is critical to getting high rankings on search engines and enhancing the visitor experience. A simple fix of removing the query strings from static resources is worth the effort to improve your website.